


first meeting

by Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, polyspace babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell/pseuds/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell
Summary: Nebula's new bodyguard thinks he knows her secret.
Relationships: - mentioned - Relationship, Quinn Airgone/Avocato/Gary Goodspeed
Kudos: 6





	first meeting

**Author's Note:**

> a roleplay i did with InfernalPume, tweaked so that it's all from Nebula's point of view!

"So, did you see the new guy?"

Pixie Strixa leaned in with the other idols in her group conspiratorially, the wood of her 'performer' chair creaking under the shift in her weight. With the mirror's fluorescent lights you could see the excitement of new gossip in her eyes as she spoke, catching in her eyes like sun on black river stones. 

"No, what?" Asked another idol in their group, Leora, "You mean the new bouncer they got for the venue? I heard he wasn't starting until next week!"

Pixie shook her head, 

"No, ever since the er..." she nodded her pretty feathered head to Nebula, _"Incident,_ they're heightening security at the hotel! We're getting our own bouncer just for the lounge and backstage!"

A taloned hand went to hug Nebula, patting down her hair in a way that was comforting, but still minding to not mess it up before the show, "And it's a good thing too! We can't have anyone else coming after our Nebby Webby!" 

"Yeah!" Trilled Angel, "That was so scary! I thought you were gonna _die_!"

She was already hyping up for one of her infamous cry sessions, her makeup artist getting a look of _panic_ on his face.

Nebula was careful not to smudge her lipstick as she drank from a bottle of water to avoid pursing her lips at the mention of her kidnapping. She had known she wouldn't get away without talking about it entirely, but for it to come up so soon.... 

Instead of sighing like she wanted to, she hugged the other girl back loosely so she wouldn't knock anything out of place, relaxing into the touch for the moment and smiling before she turned to face Angel, hoping to calm her down before the makeup artist would have to redo all of his hard work.

"It was scary, but I made it through okay." She said brightly, aiming for a comforting tone. "And the hotel's taking steps to make sure there won't be a repeat, aren't they?"

There was a chorus of nodding and agreement, before they all resumed their positions to be worked on by the cosmeticians.

"So you've seen him, then?" asked Leora, "What's he like? Is he packing _weapons?_ Coz like, as much as I love the studs we take with us on your, I dont think a mean look and tight-fitting 'staff' t shirt will keep out a repeat offender."

"Dunno," Pixie said, pursing her beak for powdering, "I only saw him when we came in. Nice guy, but all stoic and junk. I guess Ventrexians just be that way."

Nebula almost choked at the mention of the Ventraxian, wondering for just a moment if her father had gotten paranoid before taking a deep breath. He wouldn't do that- or he would, but her mom would definitely talk him down before he _could_. She gave her makeup guy a silent apology, closing her eyes obediently so that he could start working on her them as she gave an assenting hum. 

"All the ones I've met tend to be that way." She said, aiming for a casual tone. "And maybe it'll help with warning people not to try anything."

"Is he cute?" Angel was to say it, earning a look from the girls, "What?" she asked, "Ventrexians look like cats! Is he a cute one?" 

Leora's mouth hung open, before squealing while Pixie seemed confused what a 'cat' was. Being the only nonhuman in the troupe would get to her sometimes. She shook her head and tried to paint a picture.

"Well he's tall, muscular, he's got a pink nose, thick eyebrows, and... well like- dark fur. With lighter patches. Seemed kinda... glum I guess? Polite. But glum."

Nebula laughed slightly at Angel, just barely managing to avoid ruining her hair by shaking her head, and decided to take pity on Pixie long enough to fill her in.

"Cats are Earth animals. Picture a ventrexian, but really tiny, walks on all fours, can't talk." She said, trying to keep it brief. She couldn't help but be a little unnerved by the description Pixie gave- even though she was sure her mom wouldn't let it happen, the new bouncer's description sounded _a lot_ like her father. "Are we going to see him at some point?"

Pixie looked mildly disturbed. "That's freaky as hell," she said, then shook her head. "Once the fans start piling in. He's at the door now, but he'll come to the dressing rooms once it gets lively enough to need proper bouncers." With a final flutter of the brush Pixie was ready, she stood to go collapse on the sofa and look at her phone.

"I wanna see the kitty man!" Leora whined, "He should 'protect' us from the inside, right?"

Nebula tilted her face long enough for the cosmetician to apply highlighter to her face, looking at the other girls out of the corner of her eye.

"I want to see him too, Leora, but we'll have plenty of time before the concert starts to talk to him." She said smoothly, as her makeup guy finished her by applying some concealer over the new, faint scar on her forehead. "Also, make sure you don't call him a kitty man to his face, they think that's crazy rude." 

Her makeup completed, Nebula leaned back in her chair to try and relax. Shows always got to her with nerves, and she had a newfound wariness for dressing rooms after the incident.

"Hope it doesn't get _too_ insane when the fans get here. Wouldn't wanna scare him off on his first night."

There was a silence around her comment that lasted a while. It was Angel who broke it.

"How do you know so much about Ventrexians?" she asked, "I've never met one before- I thought they only left their planet for war crusades and junk."

Nebula froze, internally cursing herself for getting too comfortable around these people. 

"I've been a lot of places." She said, forcing her tone to be light and upbeat. "I just have a good memory for that kind of thing, and I like to stay up on etiquette just in case. You never know who you're going to greet next."

The silence stretched, unsure if the explanation would take. Nebula could tell- they were thinking about _it_ again. The kidnapping, the rando who wanted, out of all of them, _Nebula Goodspeed_ for some unknown reason. 

"Shush up, Angel," Pixie finally piped up, "Nebula was a _real_ star before she joined us, touring the galaxy and junk. Not like you who settled for a hotel gig came right out of music school!"

Angel blushed again, her lip wobbling, "I liked that we get our own cozy rooms," she said sheepishly.

Nebula shot Pixie a grateful look at the subject change, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She really needed to keep herself more aware if she was going to pull this off. Being with this group was a dream come true, and she _didn't_ want to mess it up.

She laid a hand on Angel's arm, hoping it would keep her from getting too embarrassed or crying. "The rooms are a bonus." She said with a laugh. "I'm mostly excited that I was able to join you."

"The producers want us to do a tour of the planets that have our chain," Leona said lazily, her makeup finished as well, "Apparently there's been a push to open up a _Stardream_ in every major homeworld west of the Garblox Quarter." 

The ladies continued to prattle on as the subject changed to tour deals, potential publicity stunts, and wondering how far the hypothetical chain-hopping tour would reach. It wasn't long until showtime loomed ahead, and after a moment there was a short knock on the door.

Nebula lost herself in the conversation eagerly, glad to be discussing something different other than safety details or the theoreticals of how she knew things that she shouldn't know. She stuck mostly to listening, occasionally putting in her two cents and making mental reminders of what she would need to remember.

When the knock came, Nebula got to her feet gracefully and headed over to the door, taking a deep breath and pulling it open, making sure she was smiling.

She didn’t know the Ventrexian. His fur _was_ dark- though it was brown, not the teal almost black fur her father had, and his eyes were blue, not yellow.

She just barely bit back the sigh of relief that wanted to escape, but managed to keep her expression upbeat as she turned to face the manager, babbling small talk with him.

Things like if she was ready for the show (she was), if her leg was up to the task (it was, she'd wear her brace afterwards just in case), what she thought of the hotel (gorgeous.) 

After a long enough period of small talk, the manager stepped aside so that she could get a better look at the Ventrexian.

“This is your new bodyguard, Pepurr.” He said, and Nebula nodded in acknowledgement.

Nebula noticed that he seemed to be analyzing her. She looked him up and down for a moment, hoping he would read it as her checking him out instead of sizing him up (he _was_ kind of cute, anyways) , then doubled up on the charm, beaming as she extended her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Pepurr!" She chirped. " I'm Nebula Goodspeed."

Pepurr's arms were crossed, and for a moment he just glared at her hand before slowly unfolding them to offer one large scarred-up claw to shake. 

His handshake was firm as the rest of him, and his thumb pads would be detecting only the lily-soft skin of a singer. But when he squeezed briefly she was sure he could feel it- no amount of lotions or lack of practice could erase the hardness underneath. She'd had quite a few callouses as a child…

He let her go and stepped back, not offering to shake the other girl's hands even as they crowded over.

Nebula remained unswayed at the glare, shaking his hand firmly like she had been taught to, keeping the beaming cheerful side of herself showing. It wasn't hard, relieved as she was that she wouldn't have to pretend she didn't recognize a member of her family.

She could tell he was curious about her, and only hoped that she would be able to make him think she was just like the rest of the group- lighthearted and happy, nothing substantial showing. 

She stepped back when the other girls tried to flood in, laughing at her friends as she reached for another water bottle. "Girls! Give him some room to _breathe._ "

Pepurr merely grunted, then finally spoke. 

"I'm here to take you to the stage," he said, then jerked his head to the side. The stage manager laughed awkwardly and tried to get the girls in line, but Pepurr was already on the move. 

He led the girls to the stage, turning to face outwards at the door. The last to pass him on their way out was Nebula, as she was to join the stage last to hype up her recent joining of the group. 

Pepurr just watched her as Angel went on first, then Leora, then Pixie. A minute or so between as they spoke to the fans to hype them up. They were alone together.

Nebula watched the girls file out, taking several deep breaths to keep herself calm as they spoke. In just a moment she would run out there. In just a moment it would be her time to shine. But for right now it was just her and the bodyguard. 

"I'm glad they decided to hire someone new." Nebula said finally. "You look like you probably know your stuff, so. That's good. But I'm sure protecting a bunch of pop stars isn't your dream job..." 

At this, she trailed off, leaving the unspoken question of why he took the job hovering in the air as she watched the girls work the fans up.

Pepurr shrugged. 

"Change of pace, was curious how it would shake out."

He looked at her. Her question was pointed, casual, but it was obvious what she was implying. She just didn't want him to know. But Pepurr did, or at least he would in a minute. 

"I could ask the same of you, why would a _bounty hunter_ want to sing at a hotel?" 

Nebula's music blared overhead, Pixie's voice calling out her name as the fans went insane. Pupurr watched her face closely, even as he smirked and stood aside. That was her cue.

Nebula froze, temporary panic showing clearly on her face as he called her out. 

"How did you- never mind. I'm _not_ a bounty hunter." She hissed out. 

At the sound of her song, she rolled her shoulders, pasting the beaming grin on her face again, though anyone too close would see she wasn't thinking clearly.

"I have to get out there." She said finally.

Pepurr merely stood aside and let her proceed to the stage, the smirk still on his lips now that he had caught her.

Nebula tilted her chin up, marching past him to dash out onto the stage, smiling brightly even in the face of discomfort. She'd have to track him down later and have a _talk_ with him.

* * *

They didn't have a lot of time alone after that. Once the show was over the rest of the group was in the dressing room celebrating another great night. Through it all Pepurr stood outside, probably trying not to be bored out of his mind. 

Nebula had to grudgingly admit he was good at his job, because the door went undisturbed until the ladies filed out one by one. 

When it was Leora's turn to leave he relented, kneeling to let her pet his head. It was probably because she looked more like a person outside her idol clothes, and Nebula heard him ask once she was finished if she'd gotten it all out of her system. Leora giggled a 'yes' , and then left.

As time went on, even the assistants went home. 

Nebula had changed into jeans and a t-shirt at that point, sitting on the sofa Pixie had been on earlier in the evening after using wipes she had had in her purse to get rid of the heavy layers of stage makeup. 

She had been ready to leave for a good ten minutes now, but had decided to hang back. If there was an easier access to privacy, she didn't know what it was. 

Instead, she fiddled with her leg brace, tightening and retightening it until she was sure that it would support her weight.

After maybe fifteen minutes of being completely alone Pepurr threw the door open, his stun baton already in his hand as he looked around.

“Miss Goodspeed?”

"I'm okay. Sorry to worry you." She said calmly, undisturbed when he barged in. "Just fixing my brace. And waiting for a chance to continue our earlier conversation. "

Pepurr glared at her for only a moment, until his face broke into a smile again. 

"Figures," he said, sitting back and crossing his arms once again, "What are you going to do? Make me disappear? We all saw you fumble on live television, and if you couldn't take that clown I promise you that you can't take _me."_

She snorted at the threat, shaking her head before settling back further onto the sofa. 

  
  


"Please. Even if I could, I don't _want_ to. I'm not a violent person." She said, `` I just want to know what tipped you off as to what I used to be so I don't tip off anyone else. I've worked way too hard to get to where I am-which is why I also want to be sure you're not gonna tell anyone."

The ventrexian frowned at her.

"Not a violent person, huh?" he asked, then as if to answer her question, listed the facts, "So I wake up one morning, go get my groceries down in the main square. On the big ass projection screen is footage of some pop star getting assaulted and kidnapped. And the record label is giving out a _massive_ reward for whoever can find her, so of course me and every other merc is up to the task. But here's the weird thing- no one knows anything about this _Nebula Goodspeed's_ background. No one knows where she came from, how she got here, just that she used to be this huge international star. So I comb through the footage for clues and I notice that I _recognize_ that fighting style.” 

“That's what they used to teach the blood hunters for the Lord Commander's army back when he had an alliance with Ventrexia. So I get to thinking, we don't know nothing about this chick. She came from nowhere, apparently knows advanced grapple techniques that aren't taught outside Ventrexia, and then it turns out she was rescued by some random ass sketchy spacers and goes MIA for a month. Last she's seen getting off some contraband ship that was notorious for competing in a criminal speedster ring on some backwater planet with a hub station. Then she just returns to the stage with little to no fanfare." He leaned casually against the wall.

"You're a killer. And I don't know who your target is, I don't _need_ to know. You're gonna get off my planet, one way or another princess."

She looked at him and burst out laughing after a moment, burying her face in her hands. The irony of her father’s defense lessons being the thing to expose her was abounding, even if Pepurr’s conclusion was so far from the mark.

"Figures. I do all this work to keep it secret and now one person just looks at a minute long clip and thinks he knows everything."

She sighed, took a deep breath and looked up. "First off, I'm not even old enough to have been around when the Lord Commander was a thing. That was my parent's generation. I'm not a killer, I'm just a chick who likes singing and likes the stage. I'll explain everything to you, but you _listen_ and you _don't_ tell anyone what I'm about to explain."

Pepurr was unfazed. "I'm listening, and I _don't_ make promises to sketchy ass pop stars with a dark and dubious past."

"It's not _dark and dubious_." She said, shaking her head and grinning, a much sharper grin than her pop star one.

"It's just not good tabloid fodder. Gossip rags want a cheerful pop star with nothing to worry about, not me. So- simple. Make them think they have someone with nothing to worry about."

"My name is Nebula Goodspeed. If you know anything about human history, three people with that last name probably stand out. John Goodspeed, who closed up the first breach from Final Space; Sheryl Goodspeed, who broke out of every freaking prison imaginable, and Gary Goodspeed- my father." She said finally. 

"Otherwise known as the guy that lost the Earth. My mother is Quinn Airgone, and my other father. Well, you almost _definitely_ know him." She stopped to take a deep breath, nervous despite herself. This was the most she had said about her family to _anyone_. 

"You starting to figure any of this out yet, genius?"

The mercenary didn't move from his spot on the wall for a moment. 

"Figure out aren't the words I'd use. I think you're looking for _buying_ it."

He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her, "I've heard perps squeal but never in my life have I heard such a dumbass story strung out of nothing. Of all the stupid bullshit one of you shady bounty hunters spat- thats out there. What- you just _happened_ to escape one of the most bloodthirsty and notorious overlords of all time? And he's in a weird throuple thing with two primates? I thought you idols considered yourselves _creatives."_

He was up to her now, and she couldn’t help but notice how he was bigger and more muscular than her.

"So no, I'm not starting to 'figure out' what you're putting down. I'm watching you, _Goodspeed_."

She grinned, shrugging as she got to her feet, wincing a little at the pain that shot through her leg. Even then, he was _so much taller_ than her.

"No escaping involved. My Dad might have been a bloodthirsty overlord, but he's one hell of a softie when it comes to his kids. I guess you haven't heard the whole story about my older brother, though." 

She ducked past him, headed for the exit. Then paused at the door.

"You wanted an explanation. My father was always paranoid about something bad happening to me or Americato, because of all the shit Little Cato went through, so he pushed us through a bunch of training so we'd be able to defend ourselves- except I hate practicing, so you saw how well that worked out. My nephew saw the footage around the same time as everyone else, and my family came for me. I spent a month recuperating on the Crimson Light and my sibling flew me back home. I have no reason to lie to you. What's so unbelievable?"

  
  


Pepurr shook his head, not bothering to dignify her with an answer. She closed the door behind her.

Nebula started giggling as soon as she hit the alleyway and turned to head home, flooded with both relief that he didn't believe her and incredulity that she had told the _truth_ and he didn't believe her. Outlandish as it sounded, she shouldn't have been surprised that it was a hard pill to swallow. 

Whatever. If he didn't want to believe it it was up to him, and she didn't give a damn as long as he didn't try and tell anyone about their conversation. Then again, even if he did, she doubted he would be believed- a short, ditzy pop star who had live footage of being kidnapped as a _former bounty hunter_? 

It sounded too good to be true.


End file.
